McCain Moves To Punish The American People

The senior senator from Arizona has worked hard to earn an F-rating
from Gun Owners of America. Once a presidential contender, Sen.
McCain became the poster boy for the misnamed Americans for Gun
Safety (AGS) several years ago and has sponsored several anti-gun
bills and amendments.

With such a record lurking in his closet, do you think Sen. McCain
likes it when groups like Gun Owners of America point out his
anti-gun antics?

Of course not. So in 2002, Sen. McCain teamed up with anti-gun Sen.
Russ Feingold (D-WI) to squelch the First Amendment rights of gun
owners and other Americans. These two men successfully pushed the
Incumbent Protection Act into law -- an act that stifles the ability
of organizations like GOA to criticize elected officials before an
election.

This suits Sen. McCain just fine since he knows the media is going to
give him a free ride in his upcoming bid for president in 2008. One
can expect the mainstream media to ignore the big government
tendencies of candidates like McCain, which is why it's imperative
for watchdog organizations like Gun Owners of America to be able to
freely communicate with the American people.

Not content with the limitations in the Incumbent Protection Act,
Sen. McCain has struck again. In an effort to reap political
advantage from the current controversies in Congress, McCain has now
introduced S. 2128 -- the so-called Lobbying Transparency and
Accountability Act.

In this bill, McCain targets his wrath on groups like GOA --
requiring them to register their "grassroots" communications with
their members and to file twice as many frivolous reports.

Sen. McCain would rather shine the spotlight on us and YOU, rather
than shine the spotlight on himself -- remember, he was one of the
original Keating Five senators and was the ONLY Republican in the
Keating Five "team."

Sen. McCain might try to dismiss the actions he took on behalf of one
of his biggest contributors, Charles Keating, but as author Mark
Levin notes, "In John McCain's America, any politician who accepts a
large contribution or gift from a donor, and then takes steps
consistent with the donor's interests -- even though there is no
legal quid pro quo -- is corrupt. Well, then, by his own standard,
McCain is corrupt."

Once the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General in the Reagan
administration, Mark Levin is now a contributing editor for National
Review Online. He is also a talk show host and the head of the
prestigious Landmark Legal Foundation in Washington, DC. Levin has
never been accused of pulling punches, and his discussions over
McCain's role in the Keating Five are no exception.

"McCain was the only Republican implicated in the Keating Five
scandal," Levin points out, "yet today he lectures his party
and his
president about 'the corrupting influence' of money in politics. He
rails against the so-called 'wealthy special interests' and their
ability to buy access to elected officials, yet this is precisely
what the Keating Five scandal was all about. And, of course, under
McCain's current standard, a politician who takes a principled
position that may benefit a donor is corrupt, even if no law has been
violated.

"The John McCain of old should be thankful that his political fate
wasn't determined by John McCain the reformer," Levin concludes.

ACTION: Contact your senators and ask them to oppose S. 2128, John
McCain's bill to scapegoat grassroots groups for his own moral
shortcomings.

It should come as no surprise that Keating 5 Member John McCain is
responding to recent inside-the-beltway controversies by attacking
the First Amendment rights of grassroots groups. His most recent
travesty masquerading as "reform" legislation is S. 2128.

A true reform bill would focus the spotlight on members like John
McCain. Instead, McCain targets his wrath on groups like GOA --
requiring them to register their "grassroots" communications with
their members and to file twice as many frivolous reports.

Perhaps congressional transgressors need to be punished for the
Abramoff scandal. Perhaps Abramoff needs to be punished for the
Abramoff scandal.

But don't try to scapegoat legitimate law-abiding grassroots groups
for the moral shortcomings of people like John McCain.

The First Amendment says that, "Congress shall make no law...
[abridging the right of the people] to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances." This is a wonderful freedom that has been
enshrined in our Constitution for more than 200 years. I hope you
won't place even more restrictions on this precious right.

Please oppose S. 2128 or any other "reform" bill that would
scapegoat
outside groups, through which American citizens are better able to
petition their government and which serve as government watchdogs.
Sincerely,

Hero? Because he was in a prison camp? Might be for some other reason, but not for that. If ever there was a guy that should fully appreciate what he fought for, it's him. Yet he appears to need a nitroglycerine enema and a good swift boot in the butt.